5 Reasons
by Dionysus S
Summary: Mary felt the heat rising up to her face again and, even in the dark, she was sure of Jack's expression, just by his tone. A finger lightly brushed against her lips, and she squeaked. “B-but Jack, not here!” // Secret Santa fic for Jean Cooper
1. Your Eyes

**Title: **5 Reasons  
**Pairing: **Jack x Mary  
**A/N: **My Secret Santa gift for Jean Cooper. Man was this hard to write…but I hope I managed to pull it off. Ehehe. It's basically five, unrelated one-shots--the LJ comm really helped me out with this. Hehe.

* * *

'**Cause, to me, she had the most beautiful eyes…**

Her eyes, my wife's _eyes_. They were one of the _many_ things I found insanely attractive about her. Seriously, I don't remember the last time I actually won an argument after looking into them.

Not that we argue that much to begin with.

And most of the time, the reason _why _we were fighting in the first place usually smashed right through my closed window. Mary had such big eyes and--I must've picked this up from one of her historical romances--I always managed to get lost in them.

When she was actually staring at me, that is, and not looking down at the ground when we spoke. Usually, I would have to lift her face and make her look at me.

I'll also admit: I always did have a little 'fetish' for librarians, and those outdated, half-framed thick glasses of hers only added to their beauty (which, of course, further added to hers). So I didn't really mind that she wore those glasses…_all the time_.

I remembered having a conversation about that with her; if I remember correctly, it was a few days before our wedding.

"You know, Mary…I've never seen you without your glasses before." Was what I think I said, while I was roaming around the bottom floor of the library.

All she muttered was a pretty flustered "R-really?" and we dropped that little conversation right there. Mainly because, after pulling out one book, half the ones on the shelf decided that they wanted some freedom too.

I didn't think she would remember my comment, so you could imagine my surprise on the day of our wedding when she came into the church: dressed in her white gown, her long hair pulled up into a tight bun and…no glasses.

_No. Glasses._

Mary was beautiful before, but damn! Without her glasses, she was…her eyes were…I don't think I can even put it into words. I guess I could say "Freakin' hawt!" or "Downright sexy" or…or a lot of other things that she would totally not approve of. But all I could really do was just stare at her with my mouth open just a little, and my eyes wide.

"W-what's wrong, Jack?" Mary had whispered to me after the ceremony, giving me that adorable little worried look of hers. I had resisted the childish urge to pull my wife's cheeks. "You've been acting weird ever since you saw me. Did I do something wrong?"

I had told her, after fumbling around for my words like an idiot, it was because this was the first time I'd seen her without glasses. All she did was giggle after that, get on her tip-toes and murmured:

"You know, hubby, if you ever want me to take them off…all you need to do is ask!"

…I'm sure she now regrets ever making such a suggestion.


	2. My Food

* * *

'**Cause whenever she ate my food, at least she never said it sucked**

So I wasn't the best of cooks, I knew that. Every contest I entered, Mr. Gourmet _always_ had something bad to say about my dish. Well, as long as mine weren't as shitty as Karen's, it was all good.

When I came home empty-handed, Mary would be waiting for me. She'd be sitting on the edge of our bed, frowning a little when I walked in. She already understood what _that _look meant.

"Another failure!" I threw my hands up in the air, dropping down next to her. "I should really leave the cooking to you."

"The soup you made this afternoon?" She asked, poking my head--which was her way of telling me to get up. "It wasn't a failure, hubby! The leftovers you had…well, Hiro had it, you know. And I'm sure he loved it!"

"Ahh, thanks Mary. I think." Was all I could mutter, my face still buried in the Pikachu bed sheets. But she kept poking my head, so I finally looked up. "What?"

"I never really got to have some…could you make more?" And she gave me a cute little smile.

Ahh, how can I say 'no' to a sweet face like that?

I'll admit…I really did feel bad when she ran to the bathroom five minutes later, throwing it all up.

Shit, guess I really _should_ leave the cooking to her…


	3. Her Hair

* * *

'**Cause whenever she put her hair down, he could hardly control himself…**

"I love your hair…" Jack said, after pulling Mary closer. "And your eyes, and your cute hands, and everything else. But your hair--"

"O-oh stop!" She whispered to him, looking around. Thankfully, nobody in the store had seen them. "Not in front of everyone, Jack…"

"You're wearing it out today, though! I can't stop myself." He brought his hand to the side of her face and began running his fingers through her hair. "You know how much I love it like this." Tilting his head to the side, he gave Mary a small kiss on her cheek. "I can't wait 'til we get home…"

The librarian blushed madly and struggled to get away from him. Pushing up her glasses, she began taking in deep breaths, ignoring her husband's high-pitched laughter.

Mary couldn't believe what he'd just said--he could be such a pervert sometimes. _Well_, she thought, _I guess it was partly my fault that he's acting like this. He always wants me to wear my hair down, without it being braided and all._

"You did your hair like this specifically for me, eh?" Jack finally said, after he'd stopped laughing.

Mary slowly turned around, blinking at him a couple of times. "I-I guess so. But it wasn't even conscious! I mean, it's cold out today…but since it wasn't snowing, there wasn't really a need for me to wear a hat. So I just kinda let it out…but you also promised to see me here, after you were done with work. And…I knew you loved seeing my hair like this. S-so…I guess you're right."

Then Jack grabbed Mary's hand and began dragging her out of the supermarket, despite her protests. What about all the shopping that had to be done? They were running low on food, and they needed to stock up just in case they were snowed in.

"We'll deal with all that later, Mary." Jack muttered back, his voice so low that she could barely hear him.

She struggled to keep up with his quick pace, "Hubby…" She whined, calling Jack by his nickname. "Where are we going?"

"Well…I wanted to go home." He stopped suddenly, veered off to the right and fished through his pockets. His wife just stared, slightly confused as to _why_ they were standing in front of the Mineral Town Library.

That's when she noticed, after pulling his hand out, Jack was holding a key in his hand. …The extra key to the library she had given him. After a few seconds, he opened up the door and flew inside, whirling Mary out in front of him.

"I wanted to go home," Jack repeated, not bothering to put on the light. Mary felt herself being gently pushed backwards, and the two only stopped when her back was pressed up against the desk. "But I told you I couldn't wait, Mary…"

She felt the heat rising up to her face again; even though she couldn't see, Mary was sure of the expression now on Jack's face, just by his tone. A finger lightly brushed against her lips, and she squeaked.

"B-but Jack, not _here_!"

"Just think of it as inspiration for your novel."

He was always good at making horrible excuses.


	4. I Love You

* * *

'**Cause they could say 'I Love You' in so many different ways**

"**I **don't know why you keep doing this! You're pregnant; you should stop straining yourself." Jack grabbed the book from his wife's hand and walked onto the step-ladder. She brought her hands up to her face, resisting the urge to apologize, and blushed furiously. "Fifth row, eighth book in, right?" Was all he muttered, before slipping the novel into its place on the shelf.

* * *

**L**eaning over,despite the dull pain she was feeling in her stomach, Mary picked up the eggs from the floor of the chicken coop. She had insisted that Jack stay in bed today; he was running a high fever, and she wouldn't have him working while he was sick. With a small sigh, she placed the eggs inside the shipping box. One managed to slip out of her hands, though, and cracked on the ground.

…"I-I hope no one saw that."

* * *

"**O**h, you sure you don't mind styling this suit for Gray?" Mary questioned, smiling up at her husband.

Jack merely rolled his eyes, "You know I'd do anything you ask, Mary, so stop it already."

Anna just giggled, shaking her head before going back to putting the finishing touches on the suit. "Such a willing and obedient husband. I wish your father was like this, Mary."

Both Basil and Jack sent each other sympathetic looks.

* * *

_**V**__ows for the Wedding._

_Jack picked up his pen, and brought it down to the pad of paper in front of him. After some thought, he wrote down: "Stop being such a pervert whenever I'm with Mary in public. Like, I should really stop touching her ass. And quit trying to make-out with her whenever I get a check-up." _

_The week after, when Jack read that one line to his wife, her mouth dropped and her face turned as red as his chicken whenever she got pissed. _

_Karen, Kai and Ann, however, all cheered and hooted. _

_Carter, and the rest of those who attended the wedding, just covered their faces in shame. _

* * *

**E**ndurance. That was one thing that _both_ husband and wife had to learn. Jack, whenever she was busy trying to think up a plot, and didn't want to be bothered. She could be _really_ snappy. _It's like she's on constant PMS, or something_.

And Mary, whenever Jack's weird librarian fetish got out of control. "No, I'm not going to wear _that_ to work, Jack!"

* * *

"**Y**ou what?!"

"I sent that novel you've been working on to a publisher."

"Why?!"

"Because I thought it was awesome…and so did they!"

"B-but it wasn't finished! I mean, it was, but I never proof-read it. A-and…oh Jack…"

"…I should start running now, huh?"

* * *

"**O**ut!" Mary yelled, pointing at the depressed looking dog.

"You know he only bit you because he loves you, right?" Jack smirked, lying back in his bed. "Out of all people, I would think you'd be the one to understand."

Mary blinked her eyes, turning a little to look at him. "What do you mean?"

And all Jack had to do was point at his own neck, and sneer. "I'm sure you know what I'm talking about."

He barely dodged the baby bottle that was thrown straight at him.

* * *

"**U**h…" Now how could he do this without being corny? And, possibly, ruin an ending that was supposed to be perfect?

"Um…Mary?"

"Yes?"

Jack handed her a crudely made card—well, more like shoved it in her hands—before rushing out of the library.

"'I love you…'" Mary read aloud, closing her eyes as she began laughing to herself. Sure, it was a horribly made card (well, more like a piece of paper ripped out of a notebook, and then had small stick figure drawings lining as the frame), but hey…at least he was being creative.

"And he actually managed to remember our second anniversary this time…Aww, thanks hubby."


	5. Together Forever

* * *

'**Cause spending time together was enough for her…**

As the snow fell heavily outside, Mary laid against Jack with a smile on her face, holding her cup of hot cocoa in her hands.

"You sure you don't want to go out or anything?" Jack asked, looking over at her from the corner of his eyes. When she shook her head, he sighed, "It's the Starry Night Festival, Mary! Wouldn't you rather go to the town square? Or hang out at the inn?" It was obvious that he was feeling a bit guilty. Then again, he hardly ever found 'sitting still' as something entertaining.

Nah, he preferred exploring the mountains and searching for things. Not that Mary minded; in fact, she preferred going to explore with him too.

But today was different.

Mary shook her head, shifting her eyes to the extreme left of the room. "This is fine, Jack. I kinda like it…" She smiled at the little crib near the side of their bed. "We hardly have any time together. With you working, and me always taking care of the baby. It's fun to have some time to ourselves."

"I guess you're right." He sighed, looking upward before rubbing his forehead. "I should really take this farm seriously. It's been three years already, and it hasn't improved since the day I got it." He closed his eyes, smirking, "Granted, once I started dating you, it really did start to get better. You'd be a way better farmer than me, that's for sure."

Mary frowned, narrowing her eyes. But before she could start scolding him for putting himself down, she felt him shrug, and then wrap an arm around her. "But if sitting here with me makes you happy, then I'm all good with it too." Jack muttered, turning her head so that he could give her a small kiss. "…Happy Starry Night, Mary…"


End file.
